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Switch Contact Terminology Guide

A triple-pole single-throw (TPST) knife switch is used to short the windings of a 3-phase wind turbine for braking purposes. Switches are classified by the number of poles and throws. A pole refers to the number of electrically separate switches controlled by one actuator, while a throw is the number of separate wiring path choices other than open. A TPST switch has three poles but only a single throw, allowing each pole to be either open or closed.

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97 views1 page

Switch Contact Terminology Guide

A triple-pole single-throw (TPST) knife switch is used to short the windings of a 3-phase wind turbine for braking purposes. Switches are classified by the number of poles and throws. A pole refers to the number of electrically separate switches controlled by one actuator, while a throw is the number of separate wiring path choices other than open. A TPST switch has three poles but only a single throw, allowing each pole to be either open or closed.

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Contact terminology[edit]

Triple-pole single-throw (TPST or 3PST) knife switch used to short the windings of a 3-phase wind turbine
for braking purposes. Here the switch is shown in the open position.

In electronics, switches are classified according to the arrangement of their contacts. A pair of
contacts is said to be "closed" when current can flow from one to the other. When the contacts
are separated by an insulating air gap, they are said to be "open", and no current can flow
between them at normal voltages. The terms "make" for closure of contacts and "break" for
opening of contacts are also widely used.
The terms pole and throw are also used to describe switch contact variations. The number of
"poles" is the number of electrically separate switches which are controlled by a single physical
actuator. For example, a "2-pole" switch has two separate, parallel sets of contacts that open and
close in unison via the same mechanism. The number of "throws" is the number of separate
wiring path choices other than "open" that the switch can adopt for each pole. A single-throw
switch has one pair of contacts that can either be closed or open. A double-throw switch has a
contact that can be connected to either of two other contacts, a triple-throw has a contact which
can be connected to one of three other contacts, etc.[4]
In a switch where the contacts remain in one state unless actuated, such as a pushbutton switch, the contacts can either benormally open (abbreviated "n.o." or "no") until closed
by operation of the switch, or normally closed ("n.c." or "nc") and opened by the switch action.
A switch with both types of contact is called a changeover switch. These may be "make-beforebreak" ("MBB" or shorting) which momentarily connects both circuits, or may be "break-beforemake" ("BBM" or non-shorting) which interrupts one circuit before closing the other.

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